This invention relates generally to the field of supply chain planning and, more particularly, to a system and method for displaying logistics information associated with a supply chain.
A supply chain is a process or series of processes for providing one or more products to customers. For example, a supply chain may include procurement of raw material or component parts, manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, and product sales. A supply chain may exist entirely within a single enterprise or may span a number of enterprises. Business enterprises generally use computer-implemented management systems to model supply chains and to generate plans for providing products to customers. Typically, management systems address planning decisions as constrained optimization problems.
For example, in a manufacturing environment, a management system might schedule a sequence of tasks for a piece of manufacturing equipment. The management system might specify start times for each task according to one or more optimization criteria, such as minimizing inventory, maximizing profit, or maximizing resource utilization. The management system might also consider various constraints, such as the capabilities of the equipment or deadlines by which products must be delivered to customers. Unfortunately, as supply chains continue to become more complex, existing management systems are increasingly inadequate for displaying logistics information in a comprehensible manner that allows users to efficiently and effectively manage a supply chain.
In accordance with the present invention, a system and method for displaying logistics information associated with a supply chain is provided that reduces or eliminates disadvantages and problems associated with previous supply chain management systems and methods.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system for displaying logistics information using one or more computers includes a presentation interface. The presentation interface generates a first panel displaying a plurality of icons and a plurality of links. The icons represent entities in a supply chain. Each link couples two of the icons and represents one or more distribution resources for moving one or more items between entities represented by the two icons. Each link indicates a distribution time associated with moving the items between the entities represented by the two icons. Each link may have a length proportional to the distribution time associated with moving the items between the entities represented by the two icons, or may include a time icon indicating the distribution time associated with moving the items between the entities represented by the two icons.
The system and method of the present invention provide a number of important technical advantages. The present invention describes a system and method for visually displaying logistics information to a user. Using the displayed logistics information, a supply chain planner can evaluate the performance of an existing or simulated supply chain. By viewing logistics information for the supply chain over several time periods, a user can discover logistical problems that otherwise may have remained undetected. In addition, by examining the dynamic behavior of a supply chain according to the displayed logistics information, a user can more easily improve the movement of raw materials, component parts, equipment, products, or any other items in the supply chain. Additional technical advantages will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.